Let Me Cry
by Keitorin Asthore
Summary: Anna is used to being alone, but that doesn't mean she likes it. Oneshot. COMPLETE.


I'm about to lose control

Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

Inspired by the song "Just Let Me Cry" by Ashlee Simpson.

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Anna bit her lip hard as she peeked around the corner. Yoh was talking to her. Her. That girl with all of the long curly hair and big sparkly eyes. That girl with the size two body and the size C chest. That girl with the smile that lit up the room and the laugh that made everyone else grin.

How could she possibly measure up to her?

She was an orphan. Abandoned. Unwanted.

She didn't have any names to give to her parents, and even if there were, there was no way she could put faces to them.

And here he was, with his grandfather and his grandmother, his mother and his father, with his gang of friends and his devoted fan club.

If he snapped his fingers, a dozen girls would be at his beck and call. She doubted he noticed. But she had. They all gave him the same look- a shy, flirty glance from under drooped lashes. She'd practiced that same glance in the mirror, and she only looked like a sick calf.

Why couldn't she be like all the other girls, experienced in flirting? She didn't want to catch a score of boys. She only wanted one.

The gorgeous blonde was leaning extremely close to Yoh. He didn't seem to mind too much. She slid her hand along his arm; he didn't move. Anna could feel blood seeping through her teeth as she bit her lip, but she didn't care. If she let go of the clench she had, she would lose any vestige of control. As quietly as she could, she backed away from the door and slipped outside to the school courtyard.

The October afternoon was bright and freezing. Anna sank down on a bench and couldn't keep herself together any longer. She squinted tightly, trying to keep it all inside. Her shoulders began to shake. Teardrops slid down her cold cheeks as she clutched her schoolbooks to her chest and began to cry.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her back. "Anna?" Yoh asked. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

She bolted, drying her tears hastily. "What?" she said.

Yoh's deep brown eyes were concerned. He sat down next to her. "I think you are sick. Come here, let me see if you have a fever." His calloused hands were gentle as he stroked her forehead.

"I'm fine," Anna said, keeping her voice low to muffle how choked it was. She jerked away from his soft touch. "I'm fine, all right? If you touch me one more time you'll be doing the electric chair for so long your rear will fall off."

Yoh laughed ruefully. "No, you must be healthy if you're spouting all of that," he said.

But Anna realized his hand was still on her back. "Get away from me," she said, stiffening her spine. "Run along with your little chums."

She stood to leave, but Yoh caught her hand. "Anna." He sounded like he enjoyed saying her name. "Anna, have you been crying?"

Anna schooled herself to stare straight ahead and stiffen her wrist in her grip. "No," she said flatly.

Yoh's fingers traced the veins in her wrist. "It's wrong to lie, Anna," he said. Hand over hand he gripped her arm and forced her to sit next to him.

"I wasn't crying," she insisted. "My eyes are just a little irritated. All this dry wind."

Yoh framed her chin in his fingers, rubbing her skin with his thumb. "Hm…your eyes are all red-rimmed. Your cheeks feel warm. And what's this?" He touched his finger along her cheek, following the tear tracks. "Seems like you were crying to me."

"Shut up, Yoh!" Anna said abruptly, standing up. "You think you know everything, but you don't. You don't know anything about me, and you don't care."

"Who said I didn't care?" he asked.

"Well, you still don't know anything about me," she said, her voice tight. "Even I…don't know anything about myself." Anna's chin trembled. "So just leave. Go back to your friends."

Yoh put his hands on her waist. "Anna, come here," he whispered. "Please…I can't stand to see you like this. Please come to me."

She shook her head, crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. "No," she said. "I'll be fine on my own."

Even as she spoke refusal, her body wasn't willing. She let Yoh pull her into his embrace as she dissolved slowly into him. His left arm tightened around her small waist, while his other arm curved around her back and his hand toyed with the hair at the nape of her neck. Anna leaned her head against his chest, listening to the comforting beats of his heart. Her tears soaked through his shirt, but he didn't seem to care. Yoh rested his chin on her head.

"I do know you, Anna," he whispered in her ear. "I know that you can't cook to save your life. I know which television shows you're hooked on and which ones you can't stand. I know your favorite songs, the ones that describe your personality. I know you're the least grumpy in spring, that red is your favorite color, that you get cold easily at night. I do know you, Anna. Just not in the ways you think." Anna's sobs were ragged as she breathed in his comforting smell, burying her face in his chest. His hands were so gentle on her hair. "Go ahead and cry, Anna."

They sat there for a long time, their arms around each other, as Anna cried.

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**Author's Note:**

I got the Freaky Friday soundtrack for my seventeenth birthday, and it inspired two Shaman King oneshots, this one and "What I Like About You."

Aw, this story is just fluff. Hope you enjoyed it.


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